Any ideas why these look so different?

[GigidySONIC]

So I am trying some self diagnosis on what causing a popping sound from my passenger side wheel area(thinking a bad strut mount). The sound only happens when going over bumps and irregularities to flat ground. So there I was after removing everything to inspect the strut hats and I noticed that the passenger sturt hat and threads look great but the driver side looks like hell. If you look closely, you can see that the threads are beat up badly and all rusty. Any ideas on why this is? There hasn't been any form of front end work to this vehicle yet, 64,000 miles on it now.

 

[ahtoxa]

Could it be that there's water (or salty road spray) getting on it during the winter or moisture is somehow trapped in the case of the one and not the other?

 

[RMinNJ]

Wow... the drivers side threads look rusty..like they were exposed to moisture. The passenger side threads looks brand new but less rusty around it...either it was replaced , not exposed to as much moisture, or a different metal/material?

And the shiny one is the one giving noise/problems.. hmm? We've read a lot of posts here about folks getting their struts and mounts replaced.. do we have a moisture or part problem here? One needs to take the cowl/wiper cover off to get these right? Maybe I should check mine? The moisture is coming from the top I assume or bottom (wheel-well)? I wonder if there is anything preventative we can do ..i.e. put grease on the the threads and area etc.. ?

 

[Natesriv]

is there evidence of water anywhere around that nut. I see the big washer looks clean...

That strut top is almost ruined though.... yikes.

It may be worth taking that strut off to look at the shaft below the boot....

 

[Hulty]

FYI mine were the same way when I did my springs two weeks ago or so. The educated guess that I came to was that the drivers side sees more water due to the way the wipers direct water off the windshield.

 

[RMinNJ]

FYI mine were the same way when I did my springs two weeks ago or so. The educated guess that I came to was that the drivers side sees more water due to the way the wipers direct water off the windshield.

Ok... I'm following.. Can we seal it or grease it or something to prevent this?
Or it doesn't affect the strut operation.

 

[Hulty]

Ok... I'm following.. Can we seal it or grease it or something to prevent this?
Or it doesn't affect the strut operation.

Honestly, the best thing, fill the top hat cap with Vaseline. That'll eliminate any water issues in the future and has no negative impact.

 

[River_Rat]

Vaseline would work OK, but I would opt for removing any existing rust with naval jelly and then coating all affected surfaces with marine grease.

 

[ahtoxa]

Honestly, the best thing, fill the top hat cap with Vaseline. That'll eliminate any water issues in the future and has no negative impact.

These aren't the right types of nut and bolt to use Vaseline on. Marine grease would work better, as was suggested.

 

[Natesriv]

sh)t...now I wonder what mine look like!

 

[RMinNJ]

Yeah I wonder what mine look like.. one has to remove the windshield wipers, black cowl piece etc to take the caps off?

 

[ahtoxa]

No worries here, being in dry, hot Texas.

 

[GigidySONIC]

RMinNJ, that is correct. Being a Michigan driver, the wiper arms were corroded and were a pain to get them off the spline. Once you loosen the nut holding the wiper arm down, leave it attached and hit it a couple times with a hammer(nut left on to protect threads). Rock it back and forth a few times and presto.

 

[Scot]

RMinNJ, that is correct. Being a Michigan driver, the wiper arms were corroded and were a pain to get them off the spline. Once you loosen the nut holding the wiper arm down, leave it attached and hit it a couple times with a hammer(nut left on to protect threads). Rock it back and forth a few times and presto.

Hey - if you don't have everything you need to check it out, let me know and you can stop by sometime and we'll put it up on jackstands to see where the noise is coming from.

 

[Natesriv]

make sure the seal on the cowl cover is firmly against the windshield too, not torn or folded in wrong

 

[Natesriv]

This shoudl be a sticky

I'm wondering if this is a design flaw in the Sonic... a potential bad one.

The cowl covering on the driver's side has a grid to let water run out and off the car. It's also where the upper strut mount is. Water collects in that upper strut mount cavity and causes the nut and upper strut threads to rust.

Today I pulled my cowl covering off, and sure enough I had rust there too! What's odd was when I installed my lowering springs, I don't recall rust like that on the driver's side.

The passenger side nut & strut threads look new BTW.

crappy pic, but you can see the rust on the nut

I used a wire brush bit on my drill and removed the rust (and some paint!)

Used some rust remover (Por 15)

I didn't have the POR 15 rust paint stuff (magic!), but I did have undercoating spray

Considering I'm not going to be loosening this bolt very often I sprayed the sh)t out of the washer basin, nut & thread (and that spot I rubbed the paint off on)

I really suggest anyone who's lowered their car take a look at that nut & threads!!! I wonder if a stock Sonic has it as well...

 

[RMinNJ]

Sigh. Besides water collecting on the nut and strut did it look like the body it all mounts
to would rust out?

 

[Natesriv]

no I don't think so. The problem is the big "washer" that the nut and upper strut threads sit in create a nice basin for H2O. There's no drainage hole...

I'm just not sure why at OEM it didn't appear like that. But after I did the install it does. Do lower springs mean more threads, means that cap on the end of the threads doesn't sit flush anymore, and water can contact the nut/threads.

What can happen over time, is that nut will rust enough to become unsafe, or the threads will rust away and the strut will be useless if you ever take that nut off.. Considering the entire front weight is on those threads & nut... I don't want them rusting away.

 

[Papasonic]

I inspected for corrosion on my hatch driver side strut mount without removing the cowl cover. I looked through the grill opening in the cowl cover with a flashlight, and noticed rust starting to develop on mine too.
What I did to treat the developing corrosion was to spray the corroded area with this product, using the straw applicator inserted into the openings of the cowl grill opening. This product sprays out as a penetrating liquid, then quickly turns into a gel/grease. I also use this product on hinges, latches and the clutch pedal pivot area on my Sonic.

 

[Natesriv]

I started a thread on this too.. (made the title stand out a little more)

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...ion/15373-attention-lowered-drivers-rust.html